R20 – Brisbane v Gold Coast – The Mongrel Review

The lead up to this game was a marketer’s dream. No scrambling for storylines to generate interest, this was a legitimate high stakes matchup between two local rivals desperate to progress their seasons. Despite the disparity in the odds, make no mistake this was Gold Coast’s game to lose – an imposing home record, season on the line motivation, record crowd and an opponent on their knees through injury to key pillars.

The first term saw the Suns wasteful, bad misses to Long and Flanders, and repeatedly by King, and they were countered by precision from their counterparts. Firstly Cameron after a searing run, McCluggage with a brilliant snap on his non-preferred left foot, and Daniher after outpointing Collins on multiple occasions. The quarter was free-flowing for most parts, each team able to launch attacks from D50, the Suns capitalising from intercepts. Mac Andrew was able to pluck four marks from errand Lions kicks alone. A highlight was Holman’s tackle and subsequent goal against Rayner who, to this point, was the most influential player on the ground.

The second stanza began with the home side striking first. Big Witts marked unopposed from another diabolical kick at goal from Ben King and snapped a goal. From that point on, Brisbane started to take control They were +65 in disposals and +11 in clearances at the half as Zorko and Neale continued to run wild despite close checking on the Lion number 9 by David Swallow.

Bailey Humphrey was prominent setting up Flanders for a goal with a nice assist, while Bodhi Uwland manfully held the fort down back with some big tackles and spoils. The biggest discrepancy between the teams continued to be the skills, and in particular goalkicking as McCluggage (again), Rayner (twice) and Bailey were all able to make the most of their opportunities, whereas Anderson and King (0.6 from his past 11 shots on goal at this point) failed dismally. The highlight was a desperate spoil by Dayne Zorko on King, who refuses to attack the ball hard enough, and his opponent, giving away 27cms, closed late to knock the ball out of bounds. This moment may have been dwarfed had Joe Daniher been slightly more accurate with an audacious roost from behind the centre line which just slid wide of the target, echoing shades of the sublime Spaniard Xabi Alonso in Liverpool colours some two decades ago.

A 17-point half time advantage was quickly whittled back to just six, as firstly Rosas goaled after a Humphrey clearance, and King (finally!) after a towering mark brought the big home crowd to life. The breakthrough was undone however as King gave away a 50m penalty to Hipwood after an intercept mark, who kicked truly from straight in front. Uwland continued to impress as he smothered an Ah Chee snap, and Humphrey, in an unaccustomed grunt role unfortunately wasted three consecutive gilt-edged chances at goal, only scoring two behinds in the process. Charlie Cameron was quiet but bobbed up late with a well taken snap from a sublime Cal Ah Chee releasing handball to give the Lions some breathing room coming into the last term. The lions continued to put distance in the disposal stakes +101, and clawed back on tackles -6, but were only able to progress their lead by two points.

Josh Dunkley started the final term with a clever snap, which was subsequently reversed as snicko captured a small spike. It appeared to be the second occurrence this weekend where the ball had clipped a stray flag not quite packed away neatly behind the posts – something the AFL could and should easily rectify. Taking advantage of that let off, Tom Berry launched a searing run down the far wing that resulted in a second goal to Rosas as the game tightened up. Unheralded Darcy Wilmot and Joel Jeffrey started to have a big say on proceedings as their calm heads and good decision-making promoted their respective team’s cause. See-sawing momentum was reversed through inspiring acts such as a big Charlie Ballard goal saving tackle, multiple efforts from Daniher and Lohmann through a passage of play covering 100m, and Lohmann again with a stunning goal. Rowell and Anderson started to lift late, the Suns number 18 snapping an ugly goal to regain hope, but this was extinguished with a poor tackle from Swallow to gift Neale the sealer, compounded by a shot after the siren from Dunkley to extend the margin to five goals.

Due to injury to Andrews, Payne, Gardiner and Doedee, Lions key forward Eric Hipwood answered the SOS to go back and try to curtail the dangerous Suns forward pack. He performed the role with great determination and enthusiasm, occasionally getting caught out of position and marked over, but fought hard and ended up a strong contributor. Eight spoils, a game-high five intercept marks, second game-high nine one percenters, and a long goal were a pleasing return. Adds an extra string to his bow, and his flexibility alongside Daniher’s are real weapons.

The Suns decided to play two ruckman Jarrod Witts and Ned Moyle, but not the Fremantle mix of a power goliath and athletic beast, two old fashioned bash and crash types. Most assumed that would mean one would rest deep up forward to try to capitalise on the dearth of key backs the Lions were able to suit up, but strangely Hardwick rarely employed that option. Moyle took one nice mark over McInerney on the F50, but turned it over in the ensuing kick, while Witts floated down for one mark and goal, but it was a tactic available and seemingly obvious that wasn’t even really tried. I expect that thee two will not be playing together next round.

Gold Coast’s home form to date had been perfect, with strong wins over Hawthorn, Geelong, Collingwood and Port Adelaide, however, this picture didn’t tell the full story and reviewing their season in its entirety shows yet another disappointing outcome with tests of improvement failed at every turn.

Two losses against a sputtering Giants, two against under-siege Brisbane, unable to get over battlers North and St Kilda, interspersed with drubbings at the hands of the Swans and Dogs might have you start to wonder whether this year was a step forward at all.

There was a terrifying graphic shown on the football analysis shows during the week that starkly outlined the reduced production from their leaders when away from home, Anderson, Miller, Ainsworth, Jeffrey, Kong, Powell and Rowell all recording 15-40% worse rankings than when in the comfort of their home surrounds. This disturbing trend lends itself to the thought their leaders are lacking and must be a key focus for coach Hardwick who may have underestimated the challenge on his hands taking on this talented but flaky group.

Meanwhile the Lions after recovering from a 0-3 start to the year, debilitating season ending injuries to prime movers Keidean Coleman, Linc McCarthy, and key defensive players Darcy Gardiner and Tom Doedee have never made excuses and slowly but surely made a steady climb back up the ladder.

A couple of off-field scandals along with the weight of expectation for a runner up so close to glory, the tribunal merry go-round and concussion issues, since a loss to Hawthorn in Round 12, the Lions have gone on an eight-game winning streak to rocket up the ladder from 12th to 2nd and put themselves firmly into home final and premiership calculations.

It’s a great credit to Chris Fagan, Lachie Neale and Harris Andrews that they’ve been able to retain focussed on the end goal with so much mayhem going on around them. There are recent examples of teams seemingly in turmoil who are able to galvanise themselves and win it all, who is going to bet Brisbane won’t add their name to this list?

It’s unconscionable to me that AFL players can’t kick and handball to an acceptable level on both sides of their body. The game has evolved considerably, and in many ways, it is better than what it used to be, but skills is one area that has gone backwards despite what the rehearsed commentary team / cheerleaders will tell you. A stark difference between the teams was the capability of the players to deliver the ball by their non-preferred hand and foot. Hugh McCluggage, Zac Bailey and Cam Rayner kicked sensational left footed goals, while Noah Anderson running into an open goal attempted a banana kick from straight in front and it dropped safely into the arms of Hipwood at the top of the goal square. An earlier shot from Graham where he attempted to snap on the left also dropped harmlessly short of the target from only 20m out.

Running is ultra important, but the Suns would be best served by getting the footies out to begin pre-season in 2025. Worth mentioning one passage of play which exemplified the Lions skill advantage. In the second term, with the Suns probably on top, McCluggage collected a loose ball cleanly in the forward pocket, he balanced and gave it to Bailey by hand, shepherding for his teammate. Zac, in turn, replicated this and handed off to Dunkley whilst also providing cover. Josh followed the trend and hit Rayner, who shimmied, and snapped truly on his left. It was not only a great team goal but represented the chasm between the teams. Zorko, Rayner & Neale had a collective 92 disposals and only 12 turnovers, while their counterparts Flanders, Anderson and Rowell had 77 touches with seventeen turnovers.

Now don’t get me started on goalkicking, which has also gone backwards in terms of accuracy, however, I will admit that there are extenuating circumstances at play, fatigue being primary amongst them, along with the bizarre insistence of sports scientists to avoid this most important skill at all costs. I noted before the game that the match might be won depending on who could find their radar best between Ben King and Joe Daniher, and so it proved. Now Joe didn’t have his best day in front of the sticks, but did manage two majors from four shots. King was able to break his eleven shot miss streak, but his lack of confidence seemed to permeate through his teammates with several simple chances going begging.

It was observed during the week that Gold Coast perhaps possessed too many stars on their list and not enough role players. An influx of dominant academy picks in recent years who would have bullied their way through talent and size to dominate junior competitions, but now in the big leagues where teams are already flushed with high end stars, the coaching team are finding it difficult to balance.

While almost every player who makes it to AFL was a junior star, not all will translate to the top of the tree, and this appears to be one of the areas Gold Coast have been unable to address. They will also be compared to GWS, who have managed this implementation expertly in their 13 years, resulting in six finals appearances and three deep September runs. The Suns have the pieces in place, but can Hardwick turn them into a selfless, instinctive team that can push into the upper echelons and beyond?

Will Graham appears the most likely at this point to be the blueprint. A precociously talented player, he hasn’t been able to usurp established stars Anderson, Rowell, Miller or Flanders from the centre square rotation as yet, but can still contribute as his twenty pressure acts and game high seven tackles attest. Bailey Humphrey is another as talented as anyone in the game but has been limited when he’s not the focal point. He actually tried extremely hard last night to be a role player, getting down and dirty in clearances, blocking and knocking on, but when it came his turn to execute, he missed three gettable shots in a short space. Despite this it was a step forward and he ended up with some neat goal assists that show growth. Bohdi Uwland was one of his team’s best and is another good example of the transition from junior hero to AFL blue collar worker that is required to succeed, leading the game with 11 one percenters and spoils. Mac Andrew was one of the best afield at quarter time, controlling the air with four intercept marks, but needs to find a way to impact the game when the opposition don’t allow him the freedom to run at the ball without body contact.

The Suns had two in this role during the game, Ben Long & Nick Holman (although Holman spent considerable time further afield as well), while the Lions just went with Callum Ah Chee in the nominal defensive forward position that has become so important in modern AFL.

Long has been able to recreate himself from an aggressive half back flanker to an aggressive forward pocket with good success at the Gold Coast. In this game he was prominent early and late, with 15 pressure acts, three tackles and five score involvement, had a solid day out, but it could have been more with 1.2 including gettable misses, a tale of the day for the Suns.

Holman was in and out but stood up in a big moment, halting the run of Cam Rayner in the first term when the Lion dynamo had brushed past every other Sun, earning the free kick and scoring a much-needed goal from the ensuing 50m penalty. He is never a big possession winner, albeit with 14 pressure acts, he doesn’t need to be, but he wasn’t able to impact the game for long enough, much like his teammates.

Callum Ah Chee is another player who has transitioned from a half back flanker / winger to a pressure forward with considerable success, as his game winner against the Swans last week will attest. 18 disposals, a couple of important spoils to mitigate the Suns tall backs advantage and two superb goal assists gave him the points overall in this specialised position.

Lachie Neale the 2020 and 2023 Brownlow medallist did no harm to his chances of adding a third trophy to his collection with another outstanding game last night, easily shaking off the Swallow tag while setting up numerous forward forays. He is now second favourite to join Skilton, Bunton, Stewart and Reynolds as the only three-time winners of this prestigious award. Noah Anderson is presently 8th favourite to salute on Brownlow night, but he will not poll in this game as he was well overshadowed by many.

We’ve got some characters in the umpiring fraternity, which is good for football, as it’s always important to remember they are people who love the game too! I’d like to recognise Tom Sullivan, who apart from sporting a moustache to make Errol Flynn or Dick Dastardly jealous, performs his job week in and week out with a minimum of fuss and if any discourse is about his luscious lip foliage rather than his decision making, that proves he’s doing a great job.

21,043 fans attended this game at People First Stadium, a new record on the Gold Coast for the Q Clash in its 14th season. Despite the Suns having won before, there never seemed to be the same emotion for the Queensland version of the Derby, Showdown or Battle of the Bridge, but the lead up to this game seemed different, and with a general dislike building between the sides and higher stakes as both compete for finals, finally this will become a fixture not to be missed on the calendar.

A personal bugbear of mine. Why is it so difficult for the AFL to admit that overseas sports do this particular element better? Home teams wear their full coloured strip, and away teams wear a white strip, the umpires then wear a colour that is different from those two – simples right? Most of the time apparently not, but well done to both teams here for reducing any risk of a poor viewing or game experience.

Four of them played in this game, two for either side, and had contrasting fortunes. The clear standout was Cam Rayner who arguably was the most influential and best player on the ground, bullocking through stoppages and kicking two excellent goals. If he is able to replicate his recent form in September, the word potential will never be muttered around his name again. Will Ashcroft, a nice if understated game as he continues his comeback from an ACL tear, 21 touches and more involvement week on week.

Matt Rowell, was thereabouts throughout, but ultimately wasn’t consistent enough to match his opponents. Burst onto the scene with excitement that his ceiling could be Chris Judd, but now appears that is more likely to be Josh Dunkley, a fine player in his own right, but still a long way from achieving this level on a regular basis. Jack Lukosius just couldn’t get going against an undermanned Lions defence and might have benefitted from Hardwick shifting him further afield earlier to maximise his skill proficiency. Missed a straightforward shot on goal deep in to the last term that might have given his team a chance to run over the Lions.

The Suns travel to Optus next week to face the Eagles, and while they have four winnable games to close out 2024, they are now two games out of the eight and unlikely to make that long awaited September debut. What has, at times, been a promising year can only be considered a disappointment due to the inability to win games they should.

The Lions enjoy a welcome eight-day break before facing the resurgent Saints at Marvel, before finishing with three likely wins. Three out of four is probably enough to secure home finals until that one day in September so the pressure will be on.